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Some basic thoughts on: Self Awareness, embouchure and breathing Self-awareness As a teacher, it is essential to always be aware of how pupils are playing and how their playing changes as they progress. We adopt a series of habits, some good, and some not so good. Habits are easy to establish and difficult to change. The answer, then, is to aim to establish the better habits from the start, and give enough information to enable the pupil to avoid falling into the less helpful habits. A good starting point is to encourage your pupils' self-awareness. I tell pupils,to be aware of all that they do to play the instrument, so that I am unable to surprise them with my observations in the lessons. Between the two of us, we are able to sort out any physical problems. Teaching is all about two-way conversations, with both teacher and pupil, interacting and helping each other. If you were to remark to your pupil, on the fact that every time they played an F#, their left eyebrow twitched, hopefully they would say that yes, they were aware and was it a problem? This level of self-awareness is essential for pupils' progress, because it is impossible for the pupil to correct problems unless they know of their existence. It is especially important for flutists, where you cannot see the fingers, and so have to develop a sense of feel as opposed to the instruments that have the added sense of sight. Lesson times are short, and the opportunity must be taken in the time spent practising by the pupil. It is in this time, that they develop the ideas given by the teacher, relying on clear instructions and information. There is a variety of ways to help develop this self-awareness. Use of a mirror is the first step, because at a glance, the pupil can make clear observations. Stress the need to be constructive in their observations and not necessarily negatively critical, because it is healthy to recognise strengths as well as weaknesses. A mirror is an excellent aid to rectifying posture, embouchure, breathing and finger problems. Encourage the use during lesson times, then there will be a better chance of your pupils using it correctly at home. Point out the areas to observe, for example: Position of the head, arms and shoulders: Is there any movement when taking a breath? Are the fingers close to the keys? How high are the fingers lifted above the keys? Is there movement around the embouchure? Does the embouchure change when playing different dynamics or intervals? Should it change? I find that one of the most successful teaching techniques, is to ask the pupil for information concerning a topic covered in a previous lesson. This technique soon shows whether a method has been understood, and also helps develop the two-way communication between pupil and teacher. The pupil will then have a check list to refer to, in their individual practise at home. Embouchure For flute players, the position of the embouchure is critical and can be seen only with the use of a mirror. Don't let your pupils be dependent on your observations, but make them look and describe what they see. It is often the resulting sound, which tells us that there is an embouchure problem, and not necessarily the shape, but in order to make changes, pupils need to know where their starting point is. There are occasions when a pupil with a relaxed looking embouchure, can sound tight and tense with a forced sound, and other times when a tense looking embouchure, produces a free and easy sound. The answer is to always use a mixture of observation, plus listening skills. Embouchure problems need to be discussed and dealt with, as soon as they appear, because they are such hard habits to change, once they are established. Exercises given to help correct faults are often found to be very useful in other areas, for example, tone production, pitch, dynamics and flexibility. I encourage my pupils to experiment with different embouchure shapes, for example: relax or tighten lips, place the flute higher or lower, blow the air higher or lower, blow harder or softer, place the teeth closer or further apart. There are many variations and they should always practise in both directions. The important factor, is for pupils to hear when the sound improves or worsens. My philosophy as a student, was to always try the "forbidden" or inappropriate techniques, to understand why they were wrong. Now this is not to suggest that I encourage pupils to go against my teaching, but I do encourage them to experiment freely, in order to understand. Breathing Breathing is another technique where any problems need to be sorted out quickly. Breath control is crucial to all woodwind players, and poor control is the main reason for basic problems in relation to tone production, pitch control, dynamics, vibrato and phrasing. In less advanced players, the majority of problems, can be related back to poor control of breathing, blowing and support. Itemise the main points covering breath control. Encourage pupils to practise breathing away from their instruments and in front of a mirror. If you teach groups, position the pupils in a circle, so that they can observe and comment, on the player in front. Decide on the terminology that you are going to use. One example is that many woodwind teachers refer to the diaphragm as a muscle capable of pushing the air out, as well as contracting to allow the air into the lungs. This is not entirely accurate, as the diaphragm contracts to allow air into the lungs, and it is the abdominal muscles which push the air out. You need to decide how much information is required, in order to help the pupil, without overloading them with uneccessary facts. The important point to make, is that you, the teacher, must understand the mechanics of any technique, in order that you are more able to assess the information that the pupil needs to know. |
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